For many reasons, a particular network element may be configured to reside in an External Border Gateway Protocol (EBGP) network that is external to an Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) network. Examples of such reasons may include the fact that the network element at issue may not be sufficiently trustworthy, the network element at issue may be associated with a business unit that is distinct from the business unit associated with the IGP, and/or the network element at issue may not be compatible with the IGP. Typically, in a such a network configuration, the outbound data traffic of the external network element may be routed to a primary data path using default route advertisements. A secondary data path may be relied upon in the event of network connectivity failures. For this reason, network administrators may search for automated methods of switching the flow of data traffic from a primary data path to a secondary data path during such failures.
These and other embodiments and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the various exemplary embodiments.